The Karim Law Immigration Blog

Here you will find all your United States immigration-related opinions by the Karim Law team, articles/news from other sources, and information relevant to the most pressing topics in the field of immigration law.

We are excited to announce Kelsi Karim has been selected to the 2017 Southwest RisingStars list, an honor reserved for those lawyers who exhibit excellence in practice. Only 2.5% of attorneys in Southwest receive this distinction. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. This selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations.

The immigration laws could change drastically in the very near future. If you are eligible for permanent residency (green card) or citizenship we advise you to act quickly and take advantage of this benefit. Call our office to schedule a consult with a licensed immigration attorney and proceed with your application.

If you are unsure whether you are entitled to citizenship or permanent residence please call our office to schedule a consult with a licensed immigration attorney to evaluate your situation and explore your options.

How Trump, Clinton immigration plans would affect the USRepublican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton speak during the second presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016. John LocherAP PhotoBy STEVE PEOPLESAssociated PressWASHINGTON No doubt the two presidential candidates have dramatically different approaches on immigration.In tone, Republican Donald Trump often highlights violent crimes perpetrated by immigrants in the country illegally, with aggressive rhetoric that emphasizes nationalism. Democrat Hillary Clinton features a softer approach that embraces diversity and the value of keeping immigrant families together, even as her critics accuse her of promoting "open borders."It's not just talk. The White House contenders' policies would send the country — and the lives of roughly 11 million people — down very different paths.Trump says he would build a massive wall, target millions for deportation and deny legal status to anyone currently in the country illegally. Clinton would offer a pathway to citizenship for most immigrants regardless of how they arrived, continue to defer enforcement action against families, and offer health care options to immigrants here illegally.Here is a summary of their proposals:---PATHWAY TO CITIZENSHIPCLINTON: She promises to propose immigration legislation in her first 100 days that would include a route to citizenship. Her approach is largely in line with that approved by Democrats and Republicans in the Senate in 2013 but turned aside by the House.TRUMP: He has clarified that he opposes any pathway to legal status for immigrants in the U.S. illegally. They would have to return to their home countries and apply for legal entry should they wish to come back. He has not said what would happen to those who choose to stay, but said they are subject to deportation. Trump has also called for an end to "birthright citizenship," currently granted to anyone born in the United States.---A BORDER WALLTRUMP: A centerpiece of Trump's immigration plan is a wall along the border between the United States and Mexico. There are already some 650 miles of fencing along the border, including roughly 15-foot-tall steel fencing in many urban areas. Trump says he'll extend a huge wall across the vast majority of the 2,100-mile border, which would be a major construction feat costing billions of dollars. He promises to make Mexico pay for it. He would also add 5,000 border patrol agents and expand the number of border patrol stations.CLINTON: She says there are places where a physical barrier is appropriate but opposes large-scale expansion of a border wall. She prefers relying on technology and more border patrol agents to ensure the border is secure.---BARACK OBAMA'S EXECUTIVE ORDERSCLINTON: She supports President Obama's executive actions that deferred immigration enforcement against millions of children and parents in the country illegally. A deadlocked Supreme Court decision in June blocked his order, but Clinton insists that such actions are within the president's authority.TRUMP: He has said he would "immediately terminate" the executive orders, which he said gave amnesty to 5 million immigrants. One part of the president's executive action that remains in place has shielded about 740,000 immigrations from deportation, all of them people who came to the United States as children. The president's plan to expand the program would have protected as many as 4 million immigrant parents of U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents.---DEPORTATIONTRUMP: He has softened his approach on dealing with those already in the country illegally. He has pledged to begin deportation of criminal immigrants on his first day in office, but backed off his earlier pledge to forcibly remove all of the estimated 11 million immigrants in the country illegally, saying only that those who aren't immediate threats would have to go home and then apply for legal status. Critics have likened that piece of the plan to Mitt Romney's widely panned call for "self-deportation."CLINTON: She would continue Obama's policy of deporting violent criminals and others who break the law after entering the United States. But she would scale back the current administration's immigration raids, which she says produce "unnecessary fear and disruption in communities." Under her plan, the vast majority of people in the country illegally would be allowed to stay and apply for legal status and eventual citizenship.---GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCECLINTON: She would allow all people to buy into the federal health care exchanges, although she has said those in the country illegally wouldn't qualify for subsidies. Her policy would also allow some to collect Social Security, so long as they pay into the system for at least 10 years.TRUMP: He would deny immigrants in the country illegally access to any government benefits, including the federal health care exchanges. He has said that such immigrants should not be allowed to get food stamps, welfare payments or government-backed housing assistance. Those who do, he said, would be priorities for deportation.---SANCTUARY CITIESTRUMP: Like many Republicans, he vows to crack down on so-called sanctuary cities that shield residents from federal immigration authorities. Trump has pledged to block taxpayer dollars from going to any cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Municipalities like San Francisco, for example, have passed ordinances preventing city officials from asking about immigration status unless required by law or court order.CLINTON: She has not directly answered whether she supports sanctuary cities, but her campaign has said that "Hillary trusts our local police to make sound decisions about protecting their communities." That suggests she would not interfere with local ordinances, like San Francisco's. She has said such systems allow immigrants to freely report crimes and communicate with local policy without fear of deportation. Her campaign noted, however, that she believes violent criminals should be deported and a system is needed to ensure that happens.

---Associated Press writer Catherine Lucey in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.---Follow Steve Peoples on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/sppeoplesEDITOR'S NOTE - One in an AP series examining the policy prescriptions offered by the major candidates for president.

Please watch this great video published by the U.S. Embassy warning people of potential scams. Please be careful and don't fall victim.

Scams can include lotteries, on-line dating services, inheritance notices, work permits/job offers, bank overpayments, or even make it appear that you are helping a friend in trouble.

If you believe you are the victim of an Immigration Internet scam:

Do not send money. Unfortunately, any money that you might already have sent will probably not be recoverable.

End all communication with the scammer immediately, rather than attempt resolution directly. If you feel threatened, contact your local police at once. Do NOT attempt to personally recover the funds lost. Contact the appropriate authorities to resolve the matter

Report the matter immediately to The Internet Crime Complaint Center, a partnership among the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BIA), at www.ic3.gov; and, if you are in the United Kingdom, to the Metropolitan Police, at www.actionfraud.police.uk. (If you believe that you are the victim of a crime in the United Kingdom, please contact your nearest Metropolitan Police station at www.met.police.uk.)

If the scam originated through a particular website, notify the administrators of that website.

The Department of State will begin accepting applications for the 2018 diversity immigrant visa program on October 4, 2016 until November 7, 2016. There will be 50,000 diversity visas available to citizens of certain countries and there is no fee to apply. The Department of State will conduct a lottery to select applicants for the 50,000 visas. Please contact our office to schedule a consult to see if you are eligible to apply for the program. You will not want to wait until the last week to registrar due to heavy demand that can cause website delays.

We are pleased to announce Karim Law has received the Expertise award for best Immigration Lawyers in Phoenix. Only the top 20 immigration law firms out of 295 were selected from the Phoenix Metro area.

Immigrants all over the country are being targeted in scams. Don’t be one of the victims! Scammers may call or email you, pretending to be a government official. They will say that there is a problem with an application or additional information is required to continue the immigration process. They will then ask for personal and sensitive details, and demand payment to fix any problems.

Remember, USCIS officials will never ask for payment over the phone or in an email. If we need payment, we will mail a letter on official stationery requesting payment.

If you receive a scam email or phone call, report it to the Federal Trade Commission at http://1.usa.gov/1suOHSS. If you are not sure if it is a scam, forward the suspicious email to the USCIS Webmaster at uscis.webmaster@uscis.dhs.gov. USCIS will review the emails received and share with law enforcement agencies as appropriate.

"The Power Couple" - Immigration Attorneys Kelsi and Khurram Karim Law Excellence in Immigration

"Immigration law is a complex and a dynamic field. It requires meticulous approach. It's a field where federal forms and laws are constantly changing. It's not a field you can dabble in. You are either an immigration lawyer or you are not."

Kelsi recalled a recent case they worked on where their client was a young couple from India immigrating to the U.S. The wife was nine months pregnant. "We had a final meeting in the morning and they were thrilled that all their paper work and everything went through," she says. "That evening they texted me a picture of their baby, who was just born. How great is that? It's why we love our work."

"We really love our clients. They come from all parts of the world. Many of them end up becoming our friends."

"A missed deadline or overlooked detail can prove disastrous. In fact, Karim Law takes on many immigration cases that were botched by another attorney or by the clients themselves. In a recent case, they helped an individual whose green card was revoked after 25 years because of a technical error."

Please note in Arizona, the term "specialized " means the lawyer is a certified specialist through that state bar. There is no such certification available for immigration law. The firm exclusively practices immigration law but no specialization for this area of law exists in Arizona. Hence there is no such thing as an immigration specialist in Arizona.

Karim Law's Immigration Attorney Khurram Karim taught a group of attorneys selected by the State Bar of Arizona for the Bar Leadership Institute. The topic was Attorney Regulation and Ethics and it was conducted at Perkins Coie in Phoenix, AZ.

The Bar Leadership Institute (BLI) is a nine-month professional development program whose mission is to foster the professional growth and enhance the leadership skills of a diverse and inclusive group of lawyers.

Since its inception in 2007, the BLI has prepared more than 100 diverse attorneys for leadership positions within the Bar and the community-at-large. Program sessions cover a variety of topics including leadership development, ethics and career development and include conversations with judges, government attorneys, in house counsels and executives.

Immigration Attorney Kelsi Karim was selected as one of Arizona's Finest Lawyers by Arizona's Finest Lawyers.

"The Executive Board selected you because of your demonstrated record of high achievement, excellent legal skills, and a well-earned reputation for integrity," stated the letter.

"This singular honor reflects your commitment to advancing the rule of law in Arizona," explained the letter.

The letter further stated, "our Sustaining Members are distinguished lawyers whose selection is predicated on high talent, a demonstrated record of integrity, and an insightful focus on community and personal goals."